88R10205 BPG-D     By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 52       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, The nation's top law enforcement officials have   warned that white supremacy represents the most significant   domestic terror threat; and          WHEREAS, The Department of Justice has worked to protect   Americans from domestic violent extremism since its founding more   than 150 years ago, when it pursued white supremacists determined   to oppress people newly freed from slavery and deny them their   constitutional rights; and          WHEREAS, In May 2021, the United States attorney general and   secretary of Homeland Security warned U.S. senators of escalating   peril, noting that 2019 had been the deadliest year for violent   domestic extremism since 1995; a report drafted by the Department   of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the   National Counterterrorism Center, under the auspices of the   Director of National Intelligence, outlined the elevated threat   posed by domestic violent extremism; the FBI assessed that the top   domestic violent extremist threat stems from racially or ethnically   motivated violent extremists, specifically those who claim   superiority of the white race; the Homeland Security secretary   stated that "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists   are the most likely to conduct mass casualty attacks against   civilians"; the secretary and the attorney general both cautioned   that the threat of domestic extremism has intensified because of   encrypted apps and other online communications and the   proliferation of increasingly lethal weaponry; and          WHEREAS, Addressing the rising threat of racially motivated   violence, U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee has introduced   House Resolution 61, the Leading Against White Supremacy Act of   2023; the bill would amend Title 18 of the United States Code to   broaden the definition of hate crimes in order to prevent and   prosecute crimes motivated by white supremacy, as well as   conspiracies to commit such crimes; it would affirm the DOJ's   authority to conduct investigations, intercede, and take any other   measures it deems necessary and appropriate to interdict, mitigate,   or prevent potentially violent actions of this nature; under the   legislation, the DOJ's Uniform Crime Reporting Program would keep   track of white supremacist-inspired hate crimes, related actions,   and enforcement measures; and          WHEREAS, The Department of Justice is charged with the   responsibility to protect citizens of the United States and   preserve their constitutional rights, and the Leading Against White   Supremacy Act of 2023 supports the agency in fulfilling this vital   mission; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass   House Resolution 61, the Leading Against White Supremacy Act of   2023; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.